Cardholder



April 23, 1963 G. E. PALMER CARDHOLDER Filed Nov. 17, 1961 llmnu INVENTOR. -4 64 66am E. 891474- ATTMAEY United tates ateut 3,086,658 CARDHOLDER Gregory E. Palmer, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich. (10307 E. Warren Ava, Detroit 14, Mich.) Filed Nov. 17, 1961, Ser. No. 153,064 1 Claim. (Cl. 211-50) This invention relates to a card holder and more particularly to a unit body construction of a resilient transparent plastic material adapted for supporting display cards.

Heretofore, various means have been employed for displaying cards or supporting the same in areas carrying indicia thereon, which supporting members are of a makeshift nature, and which do not completely protect the card and keep the same in an attractive upright position.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel form of plastic card holder wherein the card is protectively enclosed within the holder and wherein means are provided for supporting the same upon a support surface in keeping the card clean and in an attractive upright position.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a card holder and associated rack by which postcards may be mounted within the said rack and with a sample card mounted within the card holder in an attractive upright position.

It is a further object of the present invention to incorporate a transparent plastic material into a unit body construction for a card holder, wherein the card holder is itself self-supporting and provides a means for protectively enclosing retaining the card frictionally mounted therein.

These and other objects will be seen from the following specification and claim in conjunction with the ap pended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present card holder.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section thereof on an increased scale.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a slightly different form of card holder with rack.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section thereof upon an increased scale.

The above drawing illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention; however other embodiments are contemplated within the scope of the claim hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawing, one form of cardholder is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, being constructed of a unit body of a suitable transparent resilient plastic material.

The cardholder includes an elongated generally rectangular base 11 with a suitable transparent plastic material, and which is mountable upon a suitable support surface, fragmentarily indicated at S, FIG. 2, which may be a table top, or a counter, such as in a motel, or any other location where it is desired to display a sign or a card with suitable indicia thereon.

The opposed pair of support plates 13 are connected to outer longitudinal edges of base 11 and extend inwardly and are inclined slightly upwardly as shown in FIG. 1. The material of the base 11 is reverse-curved along the longitudinal edges 12 and terminates in the said oppositely arranged inwardly extending support plates 13.

These support plates terminate at their inner edges in the substantially upright elongated holder plates 15, which extend upwardly from inner longitudinal portions of the said support plates and are arranged in compressive surface engaging juxtaposed relation to each other, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The inner portions of the support plates 13 curve up- 'iee.

wardly as at 14, FIG. 2, being spaced apart as at -16, FIG. 1 and converge towards each other slightly and towards their upper ends are in compressive cooperating engaging relation and are adapted to retainingly receive therebetween the display card C, which is frictionally interposed and located centrally therebetween, as best shown in FIG. -1.

It is noted from FIG. 2 that the holder plates 15 at their lower edges are spaced apart, as indicated at 16 to thus provide an entrant opening to facilitate insertion of the card C and to facilitate its central positioning between the holder plates 15, as shown in FIG. 1.

In view of the resilient character of the plastic material of which the assembly is constructed, and particularly the holder plates 15, it is seen that the card C is self-supporting between the holder plates 15 and will retain the assembled position shown until manually displaced therefrom. Thus there is provided a relatively simple structure which is self-supporting and which is particularly adapted for mounting upon shelves or counters for holding in an upright position a display card of some nature rendering the same particularly attractive and useful, at the same time keeping the announcement or notice clean.

It is contemplated that any other suitable resilient transparent plastic material, such as polystyrene or other material could be employed.

The primary object is achieved if the holder plates are of a clear transparent material, so as to render the card visible from the exterior thereof.

A slightly different form of card display holder and rack is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, wherein the said cardholder comprises a unit body of a resilient transparent plastic material. The said body includes the elongated rectangularly shaped base plate 18 which at its forward lower edge at 19 engages the support surface generally indicated at S in phantom lines.

The folded end portion of the base plate 18 is curved upwardly as at 20 to define upturned elongated flange which in cooperation with the base plate 18, provides a rack for a stack of cards C, corresponding to the sample card interposed at C within the pair of holder plates 22 and 24 hereafter described.

The base plate 18 at its upper longitudinal edge is curved upwardly at 21 and terminates in the first substantially upright holder plate 22. The upper edge of the first holder plate 22 is reverse curved at 23, terminating in the downwardly depending second holder plate 24 to thus provide between the said plates 22 and 24, as indicated at 26, a narrow storage area within which the sample card C may be removably nested and frictionally retained between the said plates 22 and 24.

The second holder plate at its lower end extends down below the upper edge of the base plate 18 and terminates in the base support 25 adapted for cooperative registry with the support surface S to complete the assembly and mounting of the card holder defined in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The forward longitudinal edge 19 of the base plate 18 cooperates with the longitudinally extending undersurface of the support member 25 to provide a firm support for the cardholder shown in FIG. 4. Thus a means is provided by which a sample or complimentary card in a motel, for example may be displayed as at 26 between the opposed arranged first and second holder plates 22 and 24, and wherein also there is provided a storage rack 27 for a stack of cards C.

This storage rack is defined by the base plate 18, the upturned front flange 20 and the lower portion of the first holder plate 22, a stack of such cards being shown in phantom at C. V

This cardholder, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, provides a means by whicha sample advertising postcard may be displayed and wherein a stack of cardsfor a free disposition to customers may !be made available within the storage rack portion thereof, and wherein the card stored for display purposes is arranged in-an upright protected position or remains clean and untouched Plexiglas a registered trademark has been referred to for illustration, as one form of plastic material which can be employed in the unit construction of the above described cardholders. Itis contemplated that any other acrylic resin type of plastic material may be-employed which has similar characteristics-of transparency and'resiliency.

Having described. my invention, reference should now behad tothe folIowing claim.

I claim:

A card holdercomprising a'unit body of resilient transparent plastic material, saidbody including'a baseplate of'rectangular shape at its lower edge engaging and extending at an acute angleto a supports'urface, a sub stantially uprightfirst holder plate extending upwardly from the upperedge of said base plate, a second holder plate turned downwardly from the upper longitudinal edge of said first holder plate in yielding juxtaposed compressive engaging relation therewith, said holder plates adapted to compressively retain a display card therebetween, the lower edge of said second holder plate extending below the first holder plate for cooperative engagement with said support surface, and an upturned 'fiange extending from the lower edge of said base plate defining with said base plate and first holder plate a card storage rack.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDv STATES PATENTS 1,247,871 Page Nov. 27,- 1917 2,117,668 Johnson May 17, 1938 2,188,602 Hall Jan. 30, 1940 2,807,369 Stark Sept. 24, 1957 3,027,013 Taiz Mar. 27, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 456,808 Canada of 1949 

